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One giant Riverdale park: Jeff Mandel’s Big Idea

Jeff Mandel has a great idea about public spaces: Build an aesthetically integrated platform over the DVP and connect the east and west of Riverdale Park into one giant piece of parkland

Tues., June 17, 2014

Name: Jeff Mandel

Issue: Public spaces: How to make Toronto a city designed for people

What’s the big idea: What if Riverdale Park east and west were connected as one large Central Park for the city? By building an aesthetically integrated platform over the DVP we would therefore leverage an already existing beautiful piece of parkland into something spectacular. Furthermore, we could use the opportunity to remake the bike paths, landscaping etc., along the Don River and clean and open up the mouth of the Don River, thereby creating a vast riverside park, the Don River Park, for all the residents of our city to enjoy. This can even further be combined with a flood protection program to deal with the ever increasing threat of flooding that exists in this region of the city.

How will the big idea work: The idea allows for the leveraging of already existing parkland and riverside paths, and in an efficient way offers to create a world-class Central Park for our city as well as an equally impressive Don River Park that recaptures the former glory of this river, and feeds into the ongoing improvements at the mouth of the river at the waterfront. It also allows for the incorporation and integration of a new 21st-century flood protection program.

How much will your big idea cost, and how would it be funded: The costs will be high but the flood protection aspect will have a huge cost benefit for the city and its residents who know well the cost of poor flood protection from last summer’s storm. By leveraging existing city assets (Riverdale parks, the Don River paths) and improving them we are taking something good and with a relatively manageable incremental cost, making it an incredible asset for the citizens of Toronto and visitors alike to enjoy for generations. This is a great opportunity for involvement from all levels of government, as well as private donors.

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How will you implement your big idea: Reaching out to politicians at all levels of government. Writing in the Star.

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